Review: U2 in Oakland

One has to wonder whether U2 gets the irony of opening its shows with the tune “Even Better Than the Real Thing.”

For that’s really the issue that’s up for debate on their gigantic, record-setting 360 Tour, which finally touched down on Tuesday night – nearly a year later than originally scheduled – at Overstock.com Coliseum in Oakland.

Is watching U2 perform on giant video screens, on a mammoth stage that makes it hard to pay attention to the actual musicians, even better than the plain old concert experience?

I guess it depends on what one is looking for. The sheer magnitude of the production – by far, the largest ever in rock ‘n’ roll history – is breathtaking. The four-legged “Claw” stage, which each leg able to support 125 tons, is 157 feet tall and 200 feet wide. The in-the-round stage is designed so that every fan in the stadium – totaling some 69,000 in Oakland – can, at least in theory, see what’s happening onstage. Thus, the 360 name.

But the apparatus is also a huge distraction, one that even made the band seem quite unnecessary at times. If you weren’t in the first few rows, you might as well have been watching a DVD on the big screens. Sure, that’s true, to some degree, of most stadium shows – but never before to the extent witnessed on this 360 Tour.

Not that fans are arguing. This 2 ½-hour Oakland show – originally scheduled for last June, but postponed when Bono injured his back – was the 94th of a 110-date sold-out trek that already ranks as the top-grossing tour of all time.

There were a number of highlights on Tuesday night, just not anywhere near as many as found during the local stops on the band’s two previous tours, 2001’s Elevation and 2005-06’s “Vertigo.” Those previous treks played arenas, and the intimacy of the settings did more for the music than any “Claw” ever could.

U2, however, wouldn’t make us wait long for the night’s first highlight, following up the 1991 “Achtung Baby” track “Even Better Than the Real Thing” with a powerful version of “I Will Follow,” the early single from the 1980 debut “Boy” that still stands as the band’s best anthem.

Then the Irish quartet, which consists of vocalist Bono, guitarist the Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., would quickly let the momentum slip away as it delved into the new album for a lukewarm “Get on Your Boots” and a version of “Magnificent” that was anything but.

The band recovered nicely as it moved back to the juicier part of its songbook for the “Achtung” offerings “Mysterious Ways” and “Until the End of the World,” as well as the uplifting “Elevation,” from 2000’s great “All That You Can’t Leave Behind.”

Yet, the whole affair felt overly rehearsed and rote. That’s part of the deal with these big stage productions, which leave little wiggle room for veering off the set list or ad-libbing in any form. It still shouldn’t “feel” that way. But it mostly felt so choreographed, from the song selection (which closely mirrored other shows on this leg of the tour) to the stage banter.

There was, however, a handful of refreshing exceptions to that rule. The first came when band members discussed how they’d spent the previous night partying with Metallica and Green Day.

“We talked about the most important issues of the day – the best tequila available,” the Edge said of the meeting of rock greats. “I remember at least the first hour. The rest is kind of fuzzy.”

The second was an impromptu version of “Perfect Day,” the sensational song by Lou Reed, who was reportedly in the audience. And, most significantly, Bono did take the time to recognize that this crowd had to wait so long to finally be able to see this show.

“Thank you for your patience,” he said. “Some of you were two years younger when you bought those tickets.”

The delay didn’t affect the performance. The band sounded strong through much of the evening, continuing through such fan favorites as “Beautiful Day,” “Pride (In the Name of Love)” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Bono was a powerful frontman – proving one more time that he’s the best in the business at playing up to the camera – and the Edge had the guitar effects humming as usual, while Clayton and Mullen, Jr. again formed one of rock’s most potent rhythm sections.

And that fact only made it harder to accept the “Claw.” The band sounded so good that I wanted to actually watch them, yet my attention was continually drawn up to the giant video screens and to the four-legged monster of a stage.

Setlist:
Even Better Than the Real Thing
I Will Follow
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Mysterious Ways
Norwegian Wood (partial)
Elevation
Until the End of the World
Anthem (partial)
Where Have All The Flowers Gone? (partial)
Perfect Day (partial)
Happy Birthday
All I Want Is You
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Beautiful Day
Space Oddity (partial)
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Miss Sarajevo
Zooropa
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
Discothèque (partial)
Life During Wartime (partial)
Psycho Killer (partial)
Sunday Bloody Sunday, Scarlet
Walk On
You’ll Never Walk Alone (partial)
Encores:
One
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (partial)
Where the Streets Have No Name
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
With Or Without You
Moment of Surrender

Jim Harrington

Post navigation

We never made it inside to see the show….we are really upset as we waited over a year to see these guys, bought the tickets for a Christmas present for my wife in 2009! We sat in traffic on the freeway and offramp for 2 1/2 hours, finally drove out of the lane and snaked our way all around the area for another hour and finally arrived at one of then entrances only to be told by the police that the parking lot is full and that we would have to follow the other cars to non secure parking 2-4 miles away and walk back….this was at 10:15 PM!!!! We were so disgusted, we drove home back to Alamo..called the U2 people when we got home, but no answer….we are really frustrated and angry that the promotors didn’t do a better job of organizating and didn’t have people or signs out informing autos where to go, how to get there and then finally, there is no parking in the stadium lot!?!?!? Not Good! What a waste of some big money!

Dave Zirkle

See reply above

http://www.dustinkeirstead.blogspot.com Dustin

I had a similar experience to Dave Z, as did thousands of others. Jim, take a moment to read everyone’s misery at my website (http://www.dustinkeirstead.blogspot.com), because this is a news story waiting to be told by the Oakland Tribune or Mercury News or Chronicle. Thank you.

Mark Breier

This concert was a complete fiasco and many thousands of on-time, paying attendees were not able to attend.

My family left at 6:15 from peninsula and ended up waiting on 880 for several hours — parking lots were either full or being poorly managed. We turned around at 10:15. Incredibly bad showing for U2 and Oakland Stadium.

Here’s to a South Bay stadium options and better operations management.

Michael

Why didn’t you guys take bart?!? We were there in time, saw an amazing Lenny Kravitz and an even more amazing U2! What a great concert!

Rita

We had a similar experience. It was so sad, we also didn’t make it inside. Same thing as everyone else. So disappointed in the venue. I wish we could get a refund but probably not possible.

Roger

1. Bart or public transportation
2. Look up alternate routes to the venue to avoid major on/off ramps (local streets)
4. 69,000 fans showed up which is more than the designed capacity of the park Baseball: 35,067 Football: 63,026, its expected that the parking lots will be full especially if you arrive late

I left south bay at 7:15 parked @ Walmart on Edgewater walked 1 mile to stadium got in after the 2nd song.

Burrito Aftermath

You have to go to a stadium show with different expectations than those that accompany an arena show. I, too, saw the “Vertigo” shows and they were more intimate and with better sound than last night’s event. The 360 show was a *spectacle* as much as a musical performance.

As respects parking/access issues, we made sure we arrived at 5 PM. Yeah, it cost me a half day of vacation, but given the amount spent on tickets (leaving aside the time value of money in the intervening 18 months between purchase and performance) it seemed foolish to risk the outcome a few of you experienced.

An unintended consequence of the 1 year delay in shows was the unusually high number of pregnant women at the concert. Life plans continue to be executed when concert plans go awry.

Robert

It’s nice to have a concert review of what happened on stage, but the real story of this concert happened outside of the stadium.
If you sold tickets to 69,000 people, especially at these prices, you have to obviously be able to handle that capacity and plan for it.
It is nice to say “just take Bart” but the concert promoters have to be able to plan for people coming in various forms of transportation and Bart generally doesn’t work for us – it takes longer to take it than to drive.
We left on time from the Peninsula (5:50), but completely missed the opening act and most of the concert.
What would normally take an hour in super bad traffic, took us 3 hours and 40 minutes to get to from our home to our seats. We, along with hundreds of people, had to walk across the 880 about a mile because overflow parking was full and there was no other parking planned beyond that. We paid a security guard in an office lot money to not tow our car.
There was no traffic control but, right by the stadium, there were some police officers basically directing traffic to overflow lots that were full and then, beyond that, there was no plan. They were just directing traffic to nowhere to try to get rid of it.
We stayed for a little over an hour and left early for fear that we would have to be in that traffic on the way home. Got home after midnight, having spent over 5 hours getting to and from the stadium and hundreds of dollars.
Wow. U2 and Oakland Arena. Not cool.
To say this was disappointing is an understatement.
This was a waste of time and money and we have been left with a really bad feeling about the whole event. The concert promoters need to take some responsibility for this. Does anyone have a customer service contact for them or U2?

Eric

U2 should have wrote a song on the fly called “Cry me a river”

C’mon people. Take BART, plan ahead. And stop yer whining. I got tickets last minute, hopped on BART, made it in time for Lenny Kravitz and left a tad early to beat the expected BART crush.

Great night. Don’t blame U2 for your stupidity.

Jessica

Thank you for the spot on review. U2 is famous for what they did in their early days, and have lasting power because of it, not because of their latest release. Those clips they showed at the end of 4 young boys in the 80s – that’s the U2 I went to see. I get that bands have to evolve with the times, but I have never thought of U2 as a flashy band. I wanted music and a show, not the most expensive set on the planet. For someone who wants to help save the world Bono should know better than to have 48 trucks following him around the country. I felt that going into the show and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but turns out my first impressions were right after all.

I’ve been a U2 fan for two decades – Achtung Baby was one of my first albums at age 12. I loved their Vertigo show a few years back, and I’ve always had a little rock-star-crush on Bono. This was the first time he let me down. And I think the crowd felt it too. People wanted to be on their feet, dancing, singing along. There were maybe 5 songs that emitted that kind of response, and the rest of the time the people around me were just sitting and watching. It was too much of their new stuff, most of which people don’t even know and certainly aren’t there to see. There was no roaring crowd, no begging for encores. So all these people that were in such great awe – they clearly weren’t sitting near me.

Next time I hope U2 leaves the spaceship at home and just sings the music that their fans love them for. Otherwise I won’t be there.

Michelle

come on guys – is this your first concert. You have to leave plenty early for this venue. Not at 6:15 from the pennindula. got in and out fine, just planned it accordingly.

Pat

Wow who would have thought that a sold U2 concert would create a parking lot on 880? That is no fun. After battling your way into the venue you not likely to be in a mood for what comes next. Should have been an awesome time for everyone. I had a very different experience. By using the concert club I bought a advance parking pass that put us in Lot A. Knowing the traffic would be mess we went early and wound up near the first row. I did break tradition (after having all of the claw experience I needed) and left after the 1st encore. Was in my car at 11:40 and on the freeway in about 5 minutes. All in all a great show. One thing for sure… Last night proved again Lenny Kravitz is one of the coolest cats walking the planet.

Tony

Myself and a friend were also caught in this mess on 880. To those that suggest leaving early or taking Bart, all good suggestions and not always convenient. I too left the San Jose area thinking 2 hours was plenty of time, (hence leaving early). I will take Bart to ANY Coliseum event in the future, lesson learned. I do think however, the promoter did a horrible job in having parking and traffic directed for the sold out show. If you sell tickets, you have to be able to accommodate the crowd and vehicles, bottom line. Life happens, but it was and is a very disappointing experience. 5 hours trapped in traffic to see a year postponed show and then the venue not being able to deal with the amount of people is a lousy way to treat fans.

Mark M

Jeeeez, what a bunch of Bay Area rookies. Makes sense that the ones who complain are on here, otherwise people rarely post to such things. The stadium sure was full. Look, it’s unfortunate, but at a little preparation would have made it work for you all. I mean U2 didn’t go on stage til 9:30. I don’t ever count on 880 being a reasonable transportation option. It’s the worst. We made it to the arena by leaving San Jose @5 in 90 mins going to Fremont, then in on BART.

That concert was amazing. For such a big arena, what the heck else do you expect but a big prop show. We were in the third deck and the band members weren’t that easy to see so the video was completely necessary and very helpful for most people I’m sure. The sound is as good as it’s going to get for that place and the band was on target most of the evening with riveting raw sound. Even the lesser known songs were excellent with Bono’s gravelly but strong voice mixed with the Edge’s screaming raw guitar. It was an outstanding experience and as good as I’ve seen for a large arena concert like that. A little rehearsed at times? OK sure, that’s probably a fair criticism. But I’m not really there to hear them banter on stage much. I certainly wasn’t aware at all about the Burma situation so, whatever, you’re going to get that with Bono. I want screaming soulful U2 music played with energy and they delivered in spades. Absolutely spectacular concert and the props and stage effects made for a riveting, sometimes overwhelming experience.

Wendi Baker

I don’t think it is fair for people to say “just take Bart” or tell people not to complain about sitting in traffic (mostly on the offramps) for four hours. No one is blaming U2 for this. But I am seriously shocked that no one got hurt last night…the Staff (and even the police) who were running traffic control created a horrible and very DANGEROUS situation by not directing traffic or pedestrians (who were RUNNING the mile from overflow parking and more than happy to get hit by the cars to get there. We were directed to FOUR lots, all that were full. There is NO reason this should have happened. The punchline is it didn’t take people FOUR HOURS to get out of the lots, and everyone was essentially leaving at the same time, so why when people were coming did it take FOUR HOURS to get into the lots? I wish we could have left at 3:00, but I could not leave work early (not everyone can), have kids and a babysitter to arrange, etc. We carpooled and left at 6:00, knowing we’d miss some of the show, but it was as early as we could go. Bottom line, this situation was extremely dangerous and left people very disappointed and frustrated. I am shocked and thankful no road rage occurred. Common sense says that something went very wrong, and blaming it on the concertgoers is clearly not the way of solving this problem.

Ann

I am feeling so grateful that our friend, a Concord native, recommended me take BART in. We drove in from Sonoma County and at 6:15 pm were stopped before even merging onto I-80. We moved to San Pablo Ave and then got on BART – then took off during the 1st/2nd encore to get back on BART. Apparently we were very very lucky!

Maria

Too much is not enough.

John

Sounds like a great concert; I just wished I had seen/heard it. I left San Carlos at 5:30 and 4 hours later I was still being directed to nowhere by the traffic cops, not having heard a note. This was just simply insane.

MikeK

I’m surprised you say that “the band sounded so good”! From where were you listening? Where I was seated (Section 125 in bloody expensive seats!), the sound was TERRIBLE. No fault of the band — the bass was just amped up to idiotic, levels, drowning out all subtlety. The kick drum totally buried the bass guitar and most everything else. I even got up and went to another section to compare, but it was just as bad. Very disappointing because the band themselves seemed to be in fine form and having a great time.

I saw Pink Floyd at this venue on the Division Bell tour, and the sound was superb, so I think it can be done much better at the coliseum.

At least I got to see the show. Feel sorry for those that didn’t. I took BART and had no trouble getting there. Getting back was a bit of a challenge — I left before the last encore and made it onto the next-to-last train packed in like a sardine. Can’t believe BART doesn’t run extended/extra service for a huge event like this!

oski

There is only one thing I will fault U2 & the promoters for, which is the inclusion of another opening band. Every other stop had only 1 opener, which meant that U2 finished the concert before 11:30pm. But Moonalice opening pushed the concert time 30 minutes later, meaning that it didn’t really give people much time before the BART’s closing, since the concert last night finished closer to midnight. They should’ve been more cognizant of that situation.

As for the people who missed the concert, it’s understandable how frustrated you are. But you can’t blame others for the traffic situation which is to be expected (880 during normal rush hour without any events is bad enough). Even people I knew who went to the concert from nearby Oakland/Berkeley left 2 hours before the 7pm starting time just so they can make it on time. That’s just the nature of going to any large-scale event.

Pam D.R.

I wonder if this reviewer was at the same U2 concert that I was at last night. The show was amazing, super high energy, a religious experience of sorts. He needs to quit whining about the “spaceship” (not a “claw”) and listen to the spirit of the songs. The band was totally on, and were having a blast on stage, huge smiles and great energy! If people had planned ahead and gotten there early, traffic was no problem and the whole experience a joy. Jim H. must be old and tired. It was the real thing. Love U2

Krissant

While I feel for the people that couldn’t get into the show due to parking issues, I have to say… This was one of the most amazing concerts I’ve ever seen. U2 completely rocks my world. No other band can mobilize a crowd of 60k people like they did last night. It was a phenomenal experience that I will never forget.

Debra

Where do we begin to tell this heinous nightmare of a story about a simple evening out to a concert. Something we do with much regularity and luckily have never had any problems until last night to see U2. Well we did have to wait for Springsteen to come on for over an hour, without explanation, a couple years back at HP. Back to U2. We thought we were thinking ahead when we decided we would leave home early in order to assure we made venue entry on time. Kravitz has cancelled two shows on us, and of course, we’ve been waiting for U2 for a year and were so looking forward to this show. We normally make it to the Oakland Coliseum in 30-35 minutes during M-F evening work traffic. It took us 2 hrs & 15 to get from the 92-880 northbound merge to the signal light at the 66th Ave. Coliseum exit. The majority of that time was spent sitting in the 880 parking lot close to the venue. I realize that part of the problem here were rude consumers who think it is there right to run up both sides of our lane, solid white lines or not and cut in at the last second (as if they are the only ones who would miss the show, or as if they had been patiently waiting their turn in the que), which further delayed our entry. This includes an AC Transit bus #4065 that had his out of service light on. I queried a parking attendant and he said all lots are full go up to the 66th Ave. light and go left for overflow parking. One car got through each light, about five times and when our turn came the officer directed us to the right but did not tell us what do then so we made a u-turn at the next light where a sign said all lots were full, and headed back to wait in line for the overflow lot where we were originally headed. After waiting through several light changes and not moving, the officer now decides to let a few cars turn where we originally wanted to turn, even though none of us had yet made it that far. We sat on the overpass for at least 25 minutes and barely moved. It was obvious that the lot to the left was full as a stream of cars was trying to get out but no progress was being made. Lots of people were hurriedly walking across overpass to try to get to the show. In the distance we could see what appeared to be another lot to the right but it was also overflowing and full of red taillights. We waited a while longer but we had been in the car already for 3 hours and 20 minutes and the traffic was not moving and there was no help in sight. We finally decided to turn around and head home. We could see the southbound exit still backed up for miles and as we headed south ourselves we exited at Hegenberger and thought about trying to park in the shopping center lot. Not only would it have been a hike back to the Coliseum in unfamiliar territory and darkness but we were leary of leaving our vehicle and having it be towed. We got back on the freeway and the northbound exits for the Coliseum were also backed up for miles. These people had no idea U2 was already playing and they were never going to get in to see the show. It took us 30 minutes to get home to South San Francisco. This whole fiasco was appalling. I think when the public pays huge sums for concert tickets that they have a right to reasonable expectations of finding parking and seeing the show they paid for. For all of you who mentioned “should have taken BART”, that i sounds so unfair. We left in plenty of time even though this was a huge show. Shame on the Oakland Coliseum, the City of Oakland, the Oakland P.D., and Live Nation for not being better prepared for such a large scale event. Why weren’t perhaps half the tickets sold and two shows performed? Why were there no media announcements as to the traffic congestion or what detours to take? I know the officers have way more important issues to deal with but why weren’t there rent-a-cops planted at exit ramps to ensure smooth flowing, timely entry into the venue? Why weren’t cones put up to keep people from cheating there way in and thereby preventing them from delaying others who were waiting patiently? Why were they diverting some traffic and then attempting to let others go through the same passage? And if they had to use overflow lots why were there no shuttle services or facilities for the thousands and thousands of fans who had to suffer through this mess? “Should have taken BART”! We’re not talking about some lamebrains that got a late start. We are talking about thousands of people who did not get to see this show because of extremely poor planning. When we finally rolled into the 66th Ave. exit there were very few people in the upper deck that we saw. Kravitz was almost finished playing. This is a shameful rip-off of music lovers and consumers. How can any of the above stated agencies feel that it is okay to treat their citizens this way, let alone U2 and Kravitz. And I heard parking at overflow was $40. Are they kidding me? Shameful. I suggest that U2 play another show at a smaller venue for all the ticket holders that did not get scanned into the show (because we know they have that information) and if they can’t step up and do that for the fans who put them on the top, and if Live Nation can’t assist them in something like that then maybe Live Nation should just be held accountable for refunding the hundreds of thousands of dollars that we all lost. Perhaps a class-action suit of sorts should be looked into. Yes, I am angry and hurt and offended and sad that I didn’t get to have the joyous experience that I was looking forward to but only a portion of the paid ticketholders got to see.

Lindsay

I agree with the gentlemen who commented on Bay area rookies but I think there were a lot of concert rookies as well. Common sense is lacking here too. 1) A Stadium show by definition is going to have 63,000 people at least so BART is always the best way to go and convenient for this venue- This is not the same experience you will get at an intimate venue 2) A simple call to BART would have clarified the schedule and that BART was running extra trains after midnight. It is not BART or the promoters job to get transportation information to the public. My husband and I are both attorneys and we left from work at 7:15 from the Fremont area and took back roads (NEVER take 880) after listening to traffic and got into parking near BART at 8 p.m. We knew from research that U2 would not go on until 9:30 or so. I am 9 months pregnant but had a fantastic time because of my expectations. I am laughing at the idiots who want to sue over this. Okay, so you spent a lot of money to see the most successful/wealthiest band of all time and you didn’t plan correctly. How is that U2′s fault? Lastly, for the lady who commented that they played too much new stuff. Look at the set list! They played their greatest hits. Achtung Baby was their 8th traditional album out of 17 or so and not their best. How can you call yourself a fan? Also, get real about these guys. They are rock stars and capitalists. Bono and the Edge have mansions in Eze. Your expectations are naive. Bono didn’t even sound Irish or English born (which is he is- of English parents). This is not a poor Irish band but they are impressive and successful so don’t expect the “spaceship” to go anywhere.

Debra

While I appreciate Lindsay’s comments I am not a concert rookie by any means. We average 10-20 concerts a year in many different venues and states. We also did research on the time situation and did expect more traffic and that was why we left so early. We listened to the radio traffic reports all the way over there and not once was mention made of the congestion at the venue. I wish I knew all the backroads in that area because I would have tried them. We have never had a problem getting there or getting in on our many past visits. Still I am sad the we missed what I’m sure was a great show.

Frank

For those of you who were stuck in the traffic jam, one side note for you: I attended the Rose Bowl U2 360 Concert a bit back (it had 100k+ people) and I also attended the Oakland one last night. The contrast in traffic and parking management by Oakland vs. Pasadena/LA was amazing. For Pasadena, they pre-sold parking passes to specific lots, warned people that if you didn’t have one you should not drive or should get to the venue 4-6 hours minimum in advance, sent out (literally) 5 warnings about traffic by hard copy mail and other methods, and it was all over the news (even up here in the Bay Area) that you should be really careful about leaving early, staying the night before, etc. And that concert was on a SUNDAY with no rush hour traffic. After hearing all the warnings for the Rose Bowl, we bought parking passes in advance, arrived the night before, parked 3 miles away and walked in about 6 hours before the show was to start. It was wonderful, we had a ball.

For the Oakland concert, we didn’t hear a word in the press or from the Bay Area cities about being careful about traffic. In fact, one of the only things we did hear was that BART would only run one train after the last song, and there might not be room on the train for everyone, so better hurry to get there. That discouraged people from using BART, I think.

So, we happened to luck out — we left Palo Alto at 4pm and made it fine. But frankly we lucked out.

Everyone is, of course, responsible for their own way there. But, the contrast between Pasadena/LA and SF Bay Area really proves the point — this wasn’t a U2 issue, it was a local SF Bay Area traffic management issue. Think they’d be able to get this one right…wouldn’t you? they had a model down in LA, didn’t they? we *are* in the same state, right? :>

Chuck

Wow..Sad to hear about the parking and traffic issues..
U2 is a powerful band when you get to see them.

Me and my wife flew to Athens, Greece last year for the concert…You should have seen how packed the bart like train there…sardines were all the rage…but the music was powerful and hearing greeks, turks and people from all over the world sing their songs was magical…

I listened to some youtube videos of the oakland concert..The sound seemed off….and I even heard feedback…rare for U2 concert as I have been to 4..

Debra

Thank you Frank for mentioning the difference between the show in Pasadena/LA. One think I didn’t know about Oakland was that there are not enough parking spaces to accomodate a large crowd. Wish Live Nation would have made mention of the difficulty of parking on the website where they sold tickets.

Christine

I heard people are considering suing the band which I think is ludicrous. This seems like a failure of the promoter and the people on the ground outside the venue who are not affiliated with the band. For the record, I’m a little miffed too — I took BART and left before the end of the show because I was worried about making the train home on time.

Jorgedebasso

Me and an abundance of my verteran concert going friends on FACEBOOK are getting a big laugh at the expense of the absolutely idiotic people who thought they could leave Marin or the penninsula 2 hours before a weekday evening U2 ( one of the biggest bands in the world) concert that has been sold out for 2YEARS and expect to find parking and be on time. I cant even wrap my head around the sense of entitlement these people share that makes them think a parking space will be waiting for them at 6 pm when the show starts at 7pm. You had 12 months to arrange for the day off, if needed, to be at the ostock.col by noon and tailgate before the event. Remember going to concerts in the 70′s and 80′s? Apparently not. Highly entertaining that you guys paid all that money and missed the show. Piss poor planning. The wahh facotr is high with these folks…

Jorgedebasso

Couple cheap bikes off Craigslist: 45$

Master lock and cable: 10$

parking at WALMART off Hagenberger RD: Free

timespent riding to the turnstiles from HAGENBERGER RD: 20 minutes

BEing on time to see the worlds biggest band after spending 250$ a ticket:

PRICELESS! LOL!

BART?

Regarding the advice to use BART, I would completely agree if it weren’t for BART stating the following on their web page regarding planning for travel to/from the concert: “The concert is scheduled to end at about 11:30 Tuesday night, which should give fans plenty of time to make the short walk from Oracle Arena to the BART station before midnight. Getting to the station before midnight will help ease crowding because BART will have special event trains ready to get passengers on their way minutes after the final encore. BART service is not scheduled to be extended beyond the normal hours.” That last sentence is in bold.

Anyone returning to the Peninsula would have to be on the last train by 12:06AM, according to the normal BART schedule. Had the concert actually ended at 11:30, based on the expectation of the crowd returning to the station, a considerable number of people would have been left behind. Driving to an event would normally be a reasonable solution when one foresees not being able to get home by public transit.

Of course, as we saw, Tuesday was not quite reasonable.

smilingbluebelly

I took BART in early (arrived around 6:15). Got in, to the bathroom and bought some water with almost no lines. I was way up high in the 300s. The seat had some of the last rays of sun in the place. I brought some good binoculars and used them during most of the show. I thought I was missing something by not watching the claw most of the time; but, this and other reviews talk about the claw being a distraction, so that worked out ok, I guess. It’s true that U2 seemed to be just going through the paces most of the time. But, I was comfortable, the poeple around were friendly, I stayed until part way through the last song and didn’t miss the BART train home and didn’t even know about the traffic issues until today. So, I guess I had as good an experience as possible. I hope U2 downsize for their next tour. I wonder if another band will buy and use the claw stage set-up…?

smilingbluebelly

Re: comments about the sound above – I was right in front of one of the huge banks of speakers on the claw and the sound was very good and in sync with the video. (A real treat for nosebleed coliseum seats!) Between the binocs having just the right field width and the sound, I guess $95 Section 308 seats was the way to go. (Only significant down side was Larry Mullin was blocked by a claw leg.)

Kurt

I’m wanting to see U2 in St Louis, MO on July 17th at Busch Stadium and U2 isn’t planning to tour to the Kansas City area. The last time U2 was in KC was in November 2001 at Kemper Arena and I went to their show. It was a great show and that tour had a more simple stage set up compared to these stadium shows. I’ve seen some U-Tube videos of their ’360′ tour and it’s both simple and lavish. I have the live DVD of Genesis ‘When in Rome 2007′ and they toured with the largest LED video screen and it was 210 by 40 feet. Genesis had better visuals than, U2 ’360′ tour I thought and U2 is overrated and Genesis is underrated. I missed Genesis on their last tour and it was limited in tour dates and would have had to travel to Chicago also.

I hope to see the U2 ’360′ tour and see what all the hype is about and interested in seeing this tour. Kansas City did get a new arena in October 2007 and now getting lots of shows but, still miss some to larger metro areas.

Kurt

I wanted to add that this reviewer said that both the 2001 Elevation and 2005/2006 Vertigo tours were in arenas only and a correction is needed. It was in the USA and Canada that U2 played arenas on the 2005/2006 Vertigo tour and stadiums elsewhere. The only exceptions were an arena in Japan and a stadium in Hawaii. It was during the stadium shows on the Vertigo tour that U2 wanted to make stadiums more ‘intimate’.

Brad

For all the people complaining about traffic – I feel bad for you. It really sucks..been there done that. But barring any unavoidable reasons for you not able to leave for the concert early, I’d like to call the Wahhhhbulance for you all.

You live in one of the most congested areas of the nation, the arena is on one of the most notorious freeways in the nation, and you are there for arguably the BIGGEST band in the world. What do you seriously expect? A cakewalk into the arena..880 is a parking lot from 4:30-6:30 even on regular weekdays, it’s simple common sense to have expected complete chaos on concert day..

Livenation did send out an email talking about traffic congestion weeks ago..and that was the reason we decided to leave early from Mountain View…we left at 5 and were there by 6:15 ..parked and with a beer in our hand.

Bill Wood

Why is that no one mentioned the massive amount of parking that was not used right in front of the stadium. Someone told me that they were charging an exorbitant amount for it. Not sure how much that was because the cheap parking was $40.00. There were literally over 100 open parking spots directly in front on the north side. Enough is enough guys. Everyone wants a piece of the cash cow. This is what you have to expect when Live Nation is involved. They push it till they can’t get any more and then will probably just change their name again hoping no one will remember their greed. It’s too bad U2 sticks up for these guys. I wish APE was handling it. Those guys actually give a damn about the fans and the artists.

mark

Good review. Note that the tour is not sold out as you state. See Ticketmaster for tix for other shows

Mimi

The best concert ever!! Why someone would drive instead of taking bart that takes you directly to the Coliseum is beyond me. I guess some people don’t like public transportation. Whatever, deal with traffic. Amazing show folks! If you missed it due to poor planning or wanting to take your own car, take responsibility and don’t blame the show organizers.

Letty

I was a very lucky person in that I was able to park right next to the stadium….why? Clearly because the parking folks had been hoarding the VIP premium spots. And I was escorted to this spot at around 10:15 pm even though it was clear to me that many, many folks in front of me had been turned away from these spots. That is just wrong.
The traffic was a nightmare and dangerous. I saw at least one accident and many folks running in the streets. Had there been ANY communication from the parking management or the police that the lots were full, then that simple detail would have alleviated a great deal of the congestion.

I have been to many, many concerts, including the Joshua Tree U2 tour at Oakland and I have never experienced anything like this. I get that some folks are so sure of themselves that they think it is simple to plan for a whole day to attend a concert, take BART, whatever, but people do have lives. Just because someone needs to wait for a babysitter, or to finish an urgent meeting, does not mean they should resign themselves to missing the concert or to be stuck in traffic for four hours because the coliseum management can’t make the effort to inform folks of the problem. Yes, we might miss a concert that we paid A LOT of money for, and that might just be the way things are, but that does not mean that we should be placed in a dangerous situation, which is exactly what happened on Tuesday night.

GERRY

Geezus whiners, for all the concerts I’ve seen, this was an experience I won’t soon forget. Bono’s voice sounded good for the amount of touring they’ve done in last 2 years. To the knothead reviewer, I thought the “Magnificent” tune was quite well played. You can tell the faux-fans here who only know the popular older songs. The new album is amazing and the few songs played from it were played well. Oh well, Im guessing the “baby wanna bottle?” types posting here were from Frisco, that would explain alot. I do wish they would have played “In God’s Country” tho. Overall, excellent concert, and yes I did expect crowds, traffic and allowed for it. Result? I got to see all 3 acts.

Michael Gould

Were you at the same concert I was? This was amazing. Nothing new you say? Peter Gabriel took cover songs and completely changed the arrangements of them, making them thoroughly his own and all new. His own material was transformed through orchestral arrangements that didn’t play down to orchestra pop, but rather elevated his already elevated material to the level of complex classical orchestration. His vocal is nothing short of amazing. I had tears in my eyes when I wasn’t grinning ear to ear. Jim, I guess you need power drums for motivation. If you thought this was anything but astonishing, I feel for you.

Delphinium

Lot to comment on. I was lucky to get a ride with a friend from SF. She didn’t have tickets, and easily bought tickets. We left SF around six pm. Sat in traffic a while, but had no trouble getting into the lot. I didn’t know until 2pm that I was going to the show – someone called me with a free ticket! But I didn’t say yes right away – Now this is for all of you with “just take Bart” – I had gotten stranded after a Prince show, because Bart shut down before the concert ended. My friend had parked her car in Berkeley (to save the cost of parking, and sitting in traffic). There were so many people stranded, we couldn’t even get a taxi! We were finally able to get a taxi at around four am. My friend said it should be no problem making Bart because the show started at 7pm. I knew that didn’t seem right.
Anyway, I’m so glad my friend had gone – because once again, Bart closed at Midnight – the show ended at 11:50pm. Bart should be running extra trains for concert nights, or else it should not be encouraging people to take Bart.

The concert: Hey, I was *given* a ticket to a U2 show! U2 was just about the only band on the planet I wanted to see that I *haven’t* seen. I agree though about the spectacle thing. I’m a musician, I just want to see the band, hear the music. But I did enjoy the show immensely for what it was.

Doug Dillon

I live up in Seattle and saw U2 at Qwest Field and came away thinking exactly what you wrote on two fronts. After “I will Follow” the concert did slip down several notches until they went to older better material (although I would have much rather heard more from Boy, October, and War). The stage sure was tough competition for the band. You do catch yourself looking at the stage as much as you do watching the band. My folks live in the Bay Area and sent me your article. Great job you really nailed it!

Caleb

My first U2 concert… AMAZING! Bought 2 tickets at $40 each online about a month before the show. On the day of the concert, we left Sacramento at 4pm. We drove directly to the coliseum in time to pay $40 to park (sigh). Wandered around the coliseum trying to find our cheapest of seats. A security guard was very helpful and told us how to get to our seats. Then he suggested that since the show was not sold out, we might be able to find a seat anywhere and just move if the ticket holders showed up. So we found the best seats in the house on the top level directly in from of the stage.

I hadn’t payed attention to who was going to play before U2. The local band Moonalice, that played first was really quite good. Then when Lenny Kravitz came on I was hugely shocked and amazed. Really? I thought – I get to see Lenny AND U2 for 40 bucks a ticket?! HA!! I had always wanted to see Lenny. At that point the parking fee didn’t bother me any more.

Now for U2… there really are no words. I cried. I laughed. I screamed. I danced. I sang. I jumped for joy. I kissed and hugged my girlfriend. I thanked God for my blessed life!

Now I know why people follow U2 around the world from concert to concert. If I could afford it I definitely would too.

To those of you who had trouble getting to this amazing event:

It’s a beautiful day
Don’t let it get away
It’s a beautiful day

http://testsonmysitegoods.com new test

Your place is fvalueble for me. Thanks!…

http://www.privatescort.ro/sitemap.xml escorte romania

I feel this is one of the so much vital information for me. And i’m happy reading your article. However should statement on few general issues, The website style is ideal, the articles is truly nice : D. Good job, cheers

Thanks for any other informative web site. The place else may just I am getting that type of information written in such an ideal way? I’ve a mission that I’m just now working on, and I have been on the glance out for such information.

Hellen Carrabine

Hi there, i just wanted to drop you a line to say that i thoroughly enjoyed this particular post of yours, I have subscribed to your RSS feeds and have skimmed a few of your posts before but this one really stood out for me. I know that I am just a stranger to you but I figured you might appreciate the appreciation Take care and keep blogging.

http://www.thejackboyz.com spanish beatmaker

Heya i’m for the primary time here. I found this board and I in finding It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give one thing back and aid others such as you helped me.

I think this is a real great blog.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.

http://rebelxsi12npdigitalslrcamera.com Jamal Conant

Appreciate you sharing, great blog post.Thanks Again. Awesome.

http://REVIEWOFBESTVIDEOGAME.INFO Jada Robitaille

Awesome blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.

http://REVIEWOFLCDLEDMONITOR.INFO Ryann Henriques

Im grateful for the blog article.Much thanks again. Cool.

http://TINNITUS-1.COM Rachael Woodyard

Really enjoyed this article post. Really Cool.

http://WHICHLAPTOPTHEBEST.INFO Roman Rosati

Really enjoyed this blog post. Really Great.

http://holidayfoodgifts.info Tess Putnam

A big thank you for your article.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.

http://foodgiftideas.info Dario Woodham

Major thanks for the blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.

http://dogfoodreviews-site.info Jordon Bourne

Thank you for your article post.Much thanks again. Will read on…

http://bestwesternmovies-page.info Lauryn Linehan

Really enjoyed this blog post.Much thanks again.

http://bestskypephone.info Karley Colton

Wow, great blog article.Really thank you! Much obliged.

http://bestmovies2011.info Jax Ealy

Really informative blog post.Really thank you! Much obliged.

http://thebest3dtvreviews.info Norah Griego

I am so grateful for your blog. Cool.

http://menscologneonline.info Amber Lind

Muchos Gracias for your blog. Keep writing.

http://horrormovies2011.info Bianca Bales

wow, awesome article post.Thanks Again. Really Great.

http://forums.shopify.com/users/show/107856 Hobert Turnmyre

Just desire to say your article is as surprising. The clearness in your post is just great and i can assume you are an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please carry on the rewarding work.

http://www.zipsignals.com Zipsignals.com

hiya, Tom coming from The Atlanta area just saying hello there. My spouse and I really delight in checking out your site, I am invariably amazed every time.

http://tuinieren-algemeen.overzichtje.nl/ joop beense

Hello there, You’ve done a great job. I will definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from this site.